ADATA XPG V2 2x4GB DDR3-2800 CL12 1.65V Review

If you are an extreme enthusiast, who likes to push memory to the rugged edge, you might not have the word "Adata" in your daily vocabulary. Nevertheless, the lack of attention doesn’t seem to stop this maker from taking shots at the memory Olympus. To see if it can shake things up at the top of the food chain or is just a swing and a miss, we are going to take a look at one of Adata’s recent offerings.

Even though we are big fans of memory that is cheap, we also like to observe the battles in the less constrained divisions as those are the ground where ridiculous and innovative decisions are usually attempted before they make their way to mainstream products. As such, XPG V2 lineup promises to be Adata’s first violin for the foreseeable future so we went straight for the fastest model to see if it is any good.

Manufacturer

ADATA

Series

XPG V2

Part
Number

AX3U2800W4G12-DGV

Type

DDR3

Capacity

8 GB (2 x
4GB)

Frequency

1'400 MHz (DDR3-2800)

Timings

12-14-14-36

VDIMM

1.65 Volt

Registred/Unbuffered

Unbuffered

ECC

No

Cooling

Passive Heatspreader

Waranty

Lifetime warranty

Package
Type

Plastic Blister

The current top model in XPG V2 lineup is guaranteed to run at DDR3-2800 with CAS latency of 12. Recalling our recent experience with Hynix-based memory, such numbers can hardly be called an achievement for decently binned 4 GB modules. But if you go for a pair or 8 GB sticks, also offered in this spec by Adata, then such numbers are pretty much as good as it gets.
Judging by information printed on the labels, our 4 GB modules are built utilising the 4Gbit*8 module configuration, i.e. consist of eight memory chips, 4Gbit (512 MB) each. While this allows Adata to simplify the production process by binning the chips for 4 and 8 GB modules at the same time, a single-sided approach is not what enthusiasts usually like to see since it cripples performance in benchmarking applications.